Umbrella Verse, Full
by Chelle Isyrian
Summary: This is just the collection of all my Umbrella Verse one-shots. Icluding the last one, which you can only find in this fic.
1. Umbrellas and Raining Tea

**This is the compilation of all my one-shots, like the preview says. So enjoy, and at the end there will be the final chapter.**

**Same deal, don't own, R&R ^_^**

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Mai stepped out of her small apartment, shouldering her bag. She locked her door behind her and proceeded to hurry through the rain-drenched streets.

Naru sighed and looked up at the clock sitting on his office wall. Mai was late, again, and he was really in need of tea. Sighing again, he got up and exited his office, heading for the kitchenette. Putting the teakettle on to boil, he prepared a cup of tea for himself and, after some careful deliberation, grabbed two more cups. One for Lin and one for Mai. He busied himself looking over the various objects and pieces of paper strewn over Mai's desk.

"Stupid Mai can't even keep her desk clean." He mumbled, sorting the paper into neater piles. The teakettle whistled, dragging him back into the kitchenette.

Naru had just delivered tea to Lin, and was contently sipping his own tea whilst leaning on Mai's desk, when he heard the door open.

"You're late." He said his voice carefully void of any emotion. He looked to see a completely soaked Mai removing her coat by the door. She hurried over to her desk, barely glancing at Naru.

"Sorry," she said, grabbing a towel from one of her desk drawers and used it to dry her hair, sitting down on her computer chair. "I was up late doing homework, and I accidentally slept through my alarm."

"I don't care why you're late. I pay you to be here at 8 o'clock, so be here at 8 'clock. Unless you want to be fired," he drawled. "In which case, you could devote this time to actually learning something so you're not so stupid all the time." Mai glared at him, about to retort when Naru grabbed her cup of tea from beside him and placed it in front of her.

"Just get to work, baka." He said, leaving for his office. He had just reached his door when he turned back to Mai, seeing an astonished look on her face. He smirked as he saw her staring open-mouthed at the tea in front of her as if it was an alien.

"And Mai?" he called. Mai looked up at her boss, mouth still slightly open. "I'll drive you home tonight."

"W-why?" she stuttered, looking at Naru suspiciously.

"Because if I don't, you'll get a cold, seeing as you're too stupid to bring an umbrella. And we don't need you killing whatever brain cells you have left in that thick skull of yours." He slammed his door shut behind and returned to his computer chair, sipping his tea.

_Not as good as Mai's, but it'll do until she gets over her shock enough to make me more tea._ Naru thought to himself, quieting so he could hear when Mai came back to life. A few seconds later, he heard her moving around and cursing him under her breath as she walked past his office. Smirking he got back to work.

Mai had finished her shift at SPR and was standing outside Naru's office door, wondering if she should knock and remind him he said he'd take her home. She was just about to knock when the door was yanked open, revealing her boss putting on his jacket. He looked up to see her standing less than a meter away, staring at him.

"Stop staring it's rude, even though I can see why you'd stare." Naru said and shoved past her. Mai flushed red, spinning to face him.

"I was not staring!" she protested. "Why would I stare at you anyway you narcissistic Jerk!" She huffed. Naru gave her a blank look and opened the door to the office, not even bothering to wait for her.

"Hurry up, I don't have all night." He called over his shoulder. Mai shook her head in frustration and followed him out, shutting the door behind her. Naru sat in the driver's seat in his car, only waiting until Mai had shut her door to start driving. Mai yelped, quietly putting on her seatbelt. She glared daggers at Naru and sat back, watching people scurrying back and forth on the streets, impatient to get out of the weather.

Naru soon pulled up half a block from Mai's apartment, being the closest park he could get.

"Thanks for the ride home Naru." Mai said cheerfully, getting out of the car and immediately using her hand to shield her eyes from the worst of the rain.

Naru watched her for a second before grabbing his umbrella and getting out of the car. He caught up with her and covered them both with the umbrella. Mai looked up to see Naru walking next to her with an umbrella over them both and smiled. Upon reaching her apartment she again thanked Naru, and after unlocking her door, invited him inside. He just shook his head and collapsed the umbrella, shoving it into her hands, before turning on his heel and walking back to his car.

Mai blinked, looking at the umbrella in her hands and her quickly disappearing boss. She shook her head and shut the door, putting the umbrella down and going to make herself something warm to eat.

Naru arrived home, soaking wet, and tired. He'd gone back to the office after dropping Mai home and worked until Lin forced him to go home, threatening him with his parents if he didn't. Showering and changing into dry pajamas, Naru collapsed onto his bed, asleep in seconds for the first time in two days. That night he dreamt of umbrella and Mai under a sky raining tea. He smiled in his sleep, drawing the blankets closer to himself as he fell deeper into his dreams. A voice suddenly whispered in his room, chuckling.

"…_Idiot scientist…"_


	2. Romance Politics on the Dance Floor

Lights flashed and the infecting beat of music pulsed around Mai, vibrating through her body. She looked around, seeing glistening bodies moving in time with the song blaring in the club.

"When does Monk-san get on?" A voice beside her asked. She turned to the person sitting next to her, a bright-eyed Yasuhara. She checked her watch, sipping more of her drink.

"Five minutes, so after these guys I guess." She replied, shrugging and turned back to watching the crowd. Her SPR family and herself were sitting at a table in a crowded club, waiting for their friend, Monk-san's band to take the stage. The band playing now was really good, in Mai's opinion, playing music that was edgy and upbeat. Mai suddenly jumped up, unable to sit still any longer with all the raw energy surrounding her. She turned to face the group, lingering on Naru before quickly eyeing Yasuhara.

"Yasu, dance with me?" she asked. Yasu jumped up and nodded enthusiastically, finishing his drink before Mai took his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. The rest of the group (including Lin and a sullen Naru) watched Mai and Yasu leave, all surreptitiously glancing at Naru to see his reaction, before returning to their own conversations. Only one pair of eyes stayed trained on the young teenagers dancing, or rather, on his assistant dancing. Naru watched as Yasuhara put his hands on Mai's waist, pulling her closer to him as they danced. His eyes narrowed and his grip on his glass tightened unconsciously.

Masako watched Naru, seeing his almost invisible reaction to Mai and Yasu. She turned to glare at the aforementioned girl, jealousy rising in her. She was interrupted from glaring at Mai as she heard Ayako mumble finally, and saw Monk's band take the stage. As the music started again, this time being vaguely familiar, she noticed that Mai and Yasu were still dancing and Naru was still watching, a deceptively impassive look on his face. She gritted her teeth and stood up, plastering an inviting smile on her face and looked down at Naru.

"Dance with me Kazuya?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. Naru barely glanced up at Masako before returning his intense gave to Mai, ignoring Masako's question completely. Masako scowled, and leaned forward to whisper into Naru's ear.

Lin watched from the corner of his eye as Naru stiffened at Masako's proximity, then annoyance flickered briefly across his face at whatever the medium had said. He abruptly stood and stalked onto the dance floor, and grinning Masako following him. Lin grimaced as he saw the direction Masako pulled Naru in, sitting closer to the edge of his seat in case intervention was needed.

Masako pulled Naru as close to Mai and Yasuhara as she possibly could without being right next to them, and started dancing, twisting seductively around Naru. Naru glanced at Mai, seeing her full attention on Yasuhara, and returned his attention to the medium currently swivelling her body close, if not directly in contact, with his own in a snake like dance.

Ayako watched Naru and Masako walk onto the dance floor, giggling at Naru's indifference to Masako virtually _grinding_ on his. Her laughter soon turned to choking as she watched Naru burst into action, dancing with such style and grace she, for a fleeting second, actually believed he had been possessed. She immediately turned to John, who had engaged Lin in some conversation, and poked him hard in the arm.

"Ow!" he yelped, turning to glare at Ayako; she shut him up by motioning to Naru. John's jaw dropped as he watched his boss. "Naru can… DANCE?" he gasped, staring unbelievingly at the sight before him. He turned on Lin, who only shrugged and continued watching his young charge. Ayako got an idea, and a devious smile lit her face as she turned to John and quietly explained her plan to him. Lin watched John stand up and give Ayako and exaggerated bow, offering her his hand.

"Would you, Ayako-chan, care to dance?" he asked formally, putting on a posh voice. Ayako regarded him solemnly and stood, bowing to him.

"It would be my honour." She said, taking his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor, barely a meter away from Naru and Masako. Lin rolled his eyes as he watched them go, and settled into his chair, preparing himself for a very amusing night.

Mai noticed out of the corner of her eye as Masako and Naru approached, but quickly diverted her full attention back to Yasu, who was currently holding her waist and grinning mischievously at her. She winked back at him playfully, and slowly turned, moving in time with the music, so her back was to him and felt his hands move to wrap around her waist.

Masako grinned triumphantly when Naru responded to her dancing, putting her hands on his shoulders and rubbing his body against his. She ignored the slight tensing of his body in favour of winding her hand around his chest and down to the small of his back. Naru glared at her and continued dancing, subtly moving her hand away from him on the pretence that he used it to spin her around as the song changed.

John and Ayako moved closer to Naru and Masako, watching Naru glare at Masako when she moved closer and put her hand on his back. Ayako looked knowingly at John as Masako was spun around. John quickly stepped in and caught the still spinning Masako. Masako looked surprised to find John suddenly spinning her, still dancing, away from Naru. She tried to turn again, and get back to Naru, but found him now completely occupied with Ayako. She glared at John before going back to sit with Lin. John watched her go, then shrugged and started dancing on his own, though he was soon accompanied by a purple haired girl, who seemed to like the way he moved.

Naru watched John grab Masako, spinning her away from him, and almost sighed with relief. He was about to return to his seat when Ayako appeared in his vision and grabbed his hands, putting them on her waist. Naru raised his eyebrow and Ayako just grinned.

"Come on Naru, show me what you got." She teased. Naru thought for a moment, then started dancing again, noting with satisfaction as Masako stormed back to her seat. His eyes met Lin's briefly, and saw the Chinese man just smirk at him. Naru looked back at Ayako, and then his eyes slid past her to settle on Mai, who was dancing even closer to Yasu then when he'd last checked. Ayako noticed him look at Mai and smiled, slowing bringing them closer to the other pair as they danced. With Naru's attention on Mai, he barely noticed that he and Ayako were now dancing right next to them, until he was suddenly shoved onto his unsuspecting assistant. She looked up at him, startled, before smiled and turned back to Yasu. Only he wasn't there, he was dancing with Ayako now, as she told him something. He looked back at Mai and Naru, a surprised look on his face as he studied them. A grin broke out on his face and he winked at Mai, nodding towards Naru.

Naru looked down at Mai, tempted to ask her to dance, but decided he'd had enough. He turned on his heel and left the club, grabbing his coat off his seat on his way. He ignored the still smirking Lin as he walked past.

Mai stood in the middle of the dance floor, looking confused as she watched Naru leave. She turned back to see Ayako and Yasu had also stopped dancing, and were looking at the exit in frustration. Mai watched them share a knowing glance, and decided she'd had enough dancing too, returning to her seat. She ordered another drink and sat back, enjoying the music.


	3. Office of Red Ribbon

Mai sat at her desk, going through the files Naru had placed in front of her earlier that morning when she heard the familiar call for tea.

Ayako and Monk sat in Shibuya Park waiting for Yasuhara, who soon arrived. As the youngest of them pulled out a notebook, the two eldest passed him the supplies they'd already gathered.

"Okay, so we need to make sure we finish these today," started Ayako, already twining the ribbon she held into place. "We don't have time tomorrow, and there's no guarantee we'll have enough time before we need to put everything in place to do any last minute additions." Monk and Yasuhara nodded, grabbing ribbons looping them around the various other objects they'd 'borrowed' from the office. They continued working, putting ribbons on enough stuff that, if they wanted, they could turn an entire office into a mass of red ribbon.

"So how exactly are we going to get all this inside without Naru finding out?" asked Yasuhara, thinking of the glares they'd get if they were caught. Monk looked up briefly from his work.

"Lin gave me a spare key, and promises to keep everyone out of the office until we're done." He said. Yasuhara nodded. At least five hours passed before they were finished their work, in which time they'd gotten quite a few strange stares for passer-by's. Monk stretched his arms and fell back onto the ground, closing his eyes against the sun.

"Don't get too relaxed Monk-san, we still have things to do." Yasuhara commented, standing up to stretch his cramped muscles. He looked over to Ayako, surprised to see she had already lain down, and even fallen asleep. He shook her awake. "Come on Ayako-chan, we have to go get everything else ready."

Naru sat in his office, typing up the report for their latest case. It had involved a small group of old women who had been doing some pretty gruesome things to their own descendants. He picked up his cup and noted that it was empty.

"Mai, tea!" he yelled through his office door, waiting until he heard her move to get back to work. The clock ticked as he waited impatiently for his tea, tapping on his desk with a pencil. The door to his office soon opened and he allowed himself to calm and stopped tapping. Hot tea was place in front of him and he could feel his assistant standing behind him, waiting, as usual, for a 'thank you'. He ignored her, as usual, and proceeded to type. Mai huffed and left, slightly slamming the door behind her and got back to work.

That morning Mai was early to work, but was surprised to find the door locked. She was just fishing around for her key when a shadow fell over her, causing her to jump. She looked up to see Lin standing beside her.

"L-Lin-san," she stammered, her heart still racing. "You scared me!" Lin just stared at her, then motioned for her to follow, and left, back down the stairs. She followed him, curious as to where they were going, and saw him heading towards Naru's car. Naru was sitting in the front passenger seat, looking bored. Mai got in the backseat as Lin slid back into the driver's seat and started the car.

Naru sighed. Frankly, here was bored. Lin had dragged him and Mai out to visit various 'clients' the entire day.

"I still don't see why we had to go see them ourselves." Mai complained from the back seat. "Why couldn't they just come to the office like our other clients do?" Naru rolled his eyes, and pointedly ignored the smug look Lin gave him for it.

"Because, baka, as you would have no doubt noticed, the client was ill and was confined to bed by the doctor." He said, not even bothering to look at Mai, he could feel the indignation she felt towards his insult. "Although I don't see the point in all _three_ of us going." He added, glaring at Lin. Lin ignored him and parked near the office.

As they climbed the stairs to the office, with Naru and Mai bickering about what kind of haunting it would be, Lin quickly text Ayako, telling her they were coming. He received a reply saying something along the lines of "_thank god these two are driving me crazy_". Lin stopped just short of the door, letting Mai and Naru pass him. They didn't even notice they were that wrapped up in arguing.

"Naru." He looked at me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked. He looked at me curiously then told Mai to continue on inside. He looked at me expectantly, but I stayed silent. Waiting for something.

Naru looked at Lin then heard people shout.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Alarmed he turned around. In front of him was Mai standing in the open doorway, and past her he could see the office lounge room covered in red ribbons. The culprits of this mess were currently waving pieces of red paper around and looking at Mai. Mai suddenly started laughing and ran to her friends, attempting to hug them all at once. Naru looked at Lin, who only smiled and went inside, heading straight for his laptop. Naru followed the Chinese man inside, shutting the door behind him.

Ayako watched Mai's face as she stood in the doorway. She noticed first shock, then happiness flit across the girl's face. Her heart melted a little when tears started falling down her face, meeting the big grin that was spreading. Mai was suddenly running at them, and she was almost winded as Mai collided with her, Monk and Yasuhara, grabbing them all into a tight hug. I laughed and hugged her back then released her and stepped back so John could be hugged.

"Since you weren't planning on doing anything, we figured we'd do our own thing." Yasuhara said, reaching behind him to grab a balloon, which he promptly tied onto Mai's wrist the minute she was free of John. He looked at Mai, seeing her crying but also smiling, assuming she was just happy. "Now hurry up and open you're presents!" steering her towards one of the couches.

Mai giggled and allowed herself to be manoeuvred into a seat on the couch, staring at the small pile of gifts sitting on the table in front of her. She looked up at the others as one by one they all took seats. She noticed Naru was talking hurriedly to Lin, confused. Lin just shook his head at him and nodded toward Mai. Naru looked at Mai thoughtfully and whispered something to Lin, who whispered something back then started typing on his computer.

"So which one are you going to open first?" Ayako's voice reached her, bringing her attention back to the presents in front of her. She looked at them carefully, tears still falling from her face, so she quickly scrubbed them away and grabbed the closest present. It was a red box with red ribbon on it and was roughly the size of her head; she thought they'd planned a red theme. She opened it and gasped. Inside was the most beautifully covered book. She lifted it out and noted that it was very heavy; it was also too big to be a normal book. She admired the decorations on the front; it said Mai Taniyama Ghost Hunter in fancy Japanese calligraphy, on a background of blood red material. Covering the book around the title were small hand drawn images of ghosts, ghouls and other such childish renditions of the things she'd encountered since joining SPR. The cover page was also bordered with the nine cuts that repeating the entire way around the book. Flipping open the book she saw the pages were blank, but in the back was writing inside the cover. It read:

_Dear Mai,_

_This is a sketch book so you can draw the crazy things you manage to let happen to you._

_P.S. Try not to fill it up with pictures of Naru._

_-Ayako_

Mai blushed and shut the book, looking up at Ayako, who just grinned and winked at her. She put the book down and picked up another gift. Again, it was wrapped in red ribbon, and Mai noted there was definitely a red theme going on here. She lifted the top off the box and saw a small red stained glass ornament. She lifted it out and saw that it was a perfect miniature version of her mother. She looked at the others, wondering who could have made this. She caught the eyes of John, who was smiling at her.

"Did you do this?" she asked him, astounded. He nodded sheepishly. "But how?" she asked, staring at the beautiful woman in her palms. John rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well uh, I kind of borrowed your keys and used the picture of your mother you had. I photocopied it and gave the copy to a glass worker, who was able to recreate her." He said sheepishly. Mai's draw dropped, amazed John had gone to so much trouble. Then her mind clicked.

"Hey wait! Is that why my keys went missing a few weeks ago?" She demanded. John nodded.

"It was Monk-san's idea!" he said, trying to shift the blame onto someone else. Monk looked at John.

"John! How could you rat me out?" he wailed. Mai glared at the both of them, but couldn't keep it up considering what they did it for. Instead she picked up an almost identical box and saw it was from Monk. Inside was the same kind of ornament, red and made of glass. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she saw this time it was her dad she was looking at. She looked at them both in her hands, and sat them side by side on the table. Seeing her parents once again with each other, even if only in glass form, broke her, and she began sobbing happily, throwing herself at the two men. Monk and John hugged Mai as she repeated 'thank you's' at them. Someone coughed and Mai returned to her seat. Giving the ornaments one last look, she reached for another box which had a card attached to the ribbon. It read _"-Lin"_. Inside was an assorted collection of drawing equipment, from pencils to charcoal. She looked at Lin and thanked him, bowing. He nodded back at the girl and continued typing on his computer. She moved on to the last gift on the table, which turned out to be a red photo frame, with a picture of Yasu and herself at the beach, grinning.

"I figured you would love something that would allow to you see my face every day." Yasuhara said grinning mischievously. Mai grinned at him. She looked at each of her friends in turn and smiled at them with so much warmth they thought the room might actually raise in temperature.

The rest of the night was spent with everyone talking and eating food and cake, enjoying each other's company. Afterwards Mai sat on the couch, already putting her gifts to use as she drew the others talking in her new sketch book. Naru watched Mai draw, smiling internally at how happy she looked, and wondered if he should still get her something, even though it'd be late. He had already reprimanded Lin for leaving him out of everything, making him look like an idiot as he was the only one without a gift. Lin had just shrugged it off and told him he should've gotten her something anyway since he knew it was her birthday. He noticed everyone was starting to stretch and clear out, going home to sleep, as it was one in the morning. He was about to call everyone back when he saw Mai had fallen asleep on the couch. Hearing the door shut behind him he look to see Lin leaving. Naru turned back to Mai and studied her, moving closer to get a better view of his face. She looked so calm and happy; he couldn't help but smile softly, but soon stopped when he saw the state the office was in. With a sigh he reached over and shook Mai awake. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"Ne? Naru?" she said, rubbing her eyes and stood up, stretching out her muscles. "Where is everyone?" He rolled his eyes.

"They've gone home baka, which leaves us to clean up." He said, already starting to clear up. Mai looked around, and realised he was right, so she started cleaning.

They'd soon cleaned up, and Naru had given a ride home. He'd also accompanied her to her door, just to make sure she was okay. Mai opened her apartment door, and walked inside. After depositing her stuff on a table, she turned to see Naru leaning in the door frame, watching her.

"Did you want to come in?" she asked. He studied her for a moment and seemed to make up his mind.

"Close your eyes." He commanded. Mai instinctively did what he said, but she started to feel nervous when she didn't he didn't say anything for a few minutes. She was about to open her eyes again when she felt pressure on her lips. She gasped and opened her eyes, only to see Naru's closed ones. She closed her eyes, memorising the feeling of his lips. She's just started to get into it when he pulled away, looking her in the eyes from barely a centimetre away.

"Happy birthday." He whispered softly, before turning and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Mai stood frozen, looking at her door. Eventually she moved, touching her fingers to her lips, where she could still feel Naru's. It was like a tingling sensation that burned through her. She smiled and went to change into her pyjamas, collapsing into her bed exhausted.

She slept well that night, dreaming of red.


	4. Confusing Assistants and Annoying Twins

It was a week after Mai's birthday, and the young teen was still confused as to what had happened afterward s in her apartment. She however put it in the back of her mind, and set about making her boss his umpteenth tea of the day.

Naru was where anyone would expect to find him, in his office, sitting at his desk. He wasn't doing what you would normally expect him to though. Instead of typing away at his computer, working on the report for a case, or just some simple task he'd decided to do, he was staring blankly at the roof, his hands hooked behind his head. Naru was thinking about his assistant, most importantly, about how he had kissed her. This was a topic he had found his mind wandering to quite a lot in the past week, though the reason why was still unknown to him, and he was trying to decipher why exactly he had done it. He remembered driving Mai home, a logical move considering it was one in the morning and she was a teenage girl. That part seemed normal enough in his mind, so he fast forwarded to when they had arrived outside her apartment. He reasoned that by walking her to her door he was just being a good boss, making sure his employee was home safely and thus fully able to work the next day. But then he reached the part of the night that he had gone over most.

_He had been leaning on her doorframe, watching her place her new things on a table sitting near the door. He looked around her small apartment, noting that it seemed to be roughly one room, with the kitchen to the right and a small sitting area to his left. Behind the small couch was a futon, with blankets neatly folded and placed at the head. There was a door directly across from him that he assumed was the bathroom. His eyes slowly meandered their way back to Mai, who had at that second, just turned to look at him._

"_Did you want to come in?" she asked him. He looked at her, studying every inch of her face. She still had slight tear tracks down her cheeks, anyone would think she had been upset, but that was belied by the smile that was reminiscent of the full blown grin she had worn most of the night. Something in him had stirred; a strange sensation flitted through his body._

"_Close your eyes." He commanded. Not sure as to why, but he needed her eyes closed, needed her to stop looking at him. She did as he bid, so fast he was surprised she hadn't even asked why. He silently stepped closer, his eyes getting a more detailed view of her face as he moved. He could see the slight tint to her cheeks, and how her hair was becoming slightly frizzed from its time outside. He took another step forward; bringing him close enough to smell her. Her scent was like crushed berries, sweet and tangy. He could hear her breath, a deafening noise in the silence that wrapped around them. A small movement flickered along her features, and he could tell she was about to speak, but he didn't want that. His mind did the first thing it came up with to keep her quiet. His head moved forward and he found himself kissing her, the feel of her mouth making him curiously weak as his eyes fell shut. He felt her freeze, and could tell she had opened her eyes. He waited to be shoved off, but instead found her returning the kiss. His mind reeled and he pulled away, but something kept him close, barely a centimetre from her face. So close if he moved forward in the slightest he'd be kissing her again. An excuse came into his mind, and he barely managed to whisper 'Happy Birthday' before he left the apartment, taking himself away as fast as his feet and car would carry._

Back in his office, Naru reached up and lightly rubbed his finger in his bottom lip, replaying the feel of Mai's lips. That was when he heard a knock on the door and jerked back to a normal sitting position, pretending to be typing something on his computer.

"Come in." he said in a satisfyingly cold voice.

Mai knocked on the door to her boss' office, waiting for the usual command to enter. He was sitting at his desk, typing something. She rolled her eyes and placed the tea beside him, taking away the empty cup that still sat there. She waited patiently, for a thank you that she knew would never come.

"Was there something else?" Naru asked, not taking his eyes off his computer. She stayed silent, figuring he already knew what she wanted. "If not, then get back to work, I'm not paying you to stand around."

Mai left the office, mumbling 'You're welcome' under her breath. She returned to her seat at her desk and laid her head on her arms.

Naru sat back in his chair, grabbing the tea Mai had just brought in. He sipped it and stared at his computer screen, seeing the garbled letters he had typed in an empty document that was supposed to be a report for his parents. Putting his cup down, he deleted everything he'd written, starting again with what he was actually supposed to be doing. He had been working for a solid five minutes when he felt his mind wander back to Mai, wondering what she was doing out there. He stilled, listening for noises outside his door. Through the walls he heard the familiar sound of Lin typing at his laptop, but he could not hear Mai. He decided that she must be asleep again, and made sure to reprimand her for it later. It was just as he'd started working again that he heard someone say his name. He looked up at the mirror he kept beside his computer, in a position that allowed him to be looking directly into it while he worked. He saw himself staring back at him, with a smile on his face.

"What do you want Gene?" he asked coldly, returning his gaze to hi work.

"Come on Noll! I'm bored!" the elder twin whined. "Talk to me!"

"Go away, I'm trying to work." Naru said, glaring half-heartedly at his twin brother. Gene smirked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, so is that why you were thinking of Mai?" he asked teasingly. Naru only just managed to keep himself from reacting.

"Who said I was thinking of Mai?" Gene snorted at him.

"Please brother, give me more credit than that! You were sitting there daydreaming for an hour! It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you were thinking about." He said, looking pointedly at him. "Or who." He added. Naru ignored him, glaring at his screen. How long had Gene been watching him? Doesn't matter, he decided, he was most certainly not going to give his brother the satisfaction of knowing he was right. Before Gene could say anything more, Naru reached over and slammed the mirror face down on the table, only partially glad to not hear a cracking sound.

Gene sat back, sighing at his little brother.

"When will that idiot realise?" he muttered to himself. He stared thoughtfully at the floor for a while, but soon grew bored again, so decided he would visit his favourite sister in law. She was, of course, asleep, so he could easily access her dreams.

Mai found herself sitting on a park bench at Shibuya Park. She looked around and saw Gene sitting not far away from her, crossed legged on the ground. He was grinning at her and waving madly. She laughed and got up, running over to join her friend and spirit guide on the ground.

"Hey Gene." She said cheerfully.

"Hey sis!" Gene replied. Mai made a face; he was always calling her sis. So she shoved him over playfully; creating a childish game of who could keep the other down the longest. Needless to say Mai never heard Naru calling for tea.


	5. His Fix to Her Problem

Mai raced down the long hallway, a snarling blood-covered man flying after her, hands outstretched. She ducked through a random doorway, finding herself back at base. The sound of dark laughter resounded behind her and she spun around, facing the ghost behind her. He stood before her, dressed only in ripped jeans, covered in blood. Blood dripped red from his once pale hair. Baring his teeth, he flung himself at Mai, forcing the door shut behind him. Mai stepped to dodge him, but wasn't quick enough. The ghost grabbed hold of her shoulder, dragging them both to the carpeted floor. Mai yelped in pain as her back and side collided with the floor. She struggled as the ghost moved over her, pinning her hands above her head with one hand. His other hand wandered over her body, squeezing and roughly groping any part of her he could. Mai cried out at the abuse.

"Please NO! STOP! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yelled, thrashing wildly as he started to unbutton her top, exposing the pink lacy bra underneath. The ghost chuckled, fingering along the edge of her bra cup, tracing it up to the strap, which he smoothly pushed down. Mai screamed and tears fell down her face. The ghost smashed his lips against hers, swallowing her sobs. Mai choked on the feel of him, nearly vomiting in her mouth.

Just then, the door crashed open and SPR ran into the room, freezing at the sight before them.

"MAI!" Naru yelled, being the first to recover and started towards her.

"NO!" he heard someone yell, Lin, and felt the Chinese man grab hold of him, restraining him. Naru snarled at him, turning on him. Lin just looked down at Naru's hands, which the he looked down to see were glowing. Naru looked at them, startled; he hadn't even realized he'd activated his PK. He had been so sick with worry that when he saw the ghost on top of Mai he was furious, and his only thought had been to destroy the ghost that dared touch his Mai like that. He bit his tongue and concentrated, calming down enough for his PK to become dormant again. A gust of wind blew past him; bringing his attention back to the middle of the room. He saw Mai, with the ghost nowhere in sight, sobbing into Ayako's shirt and the older woman comforted her. He looked over to see a panting John, obviously having been the one to exorcise the ghost. Naru rushed over to Mai, falling to his knees and grabbing her face in his hands, scanning for any signs of injury. Other than swollen lips, the sight of which made his blood boil and only fueled his anger more, and tears that he brushed away, he saw nothing truly wrong. Due to the current state of her clothing though, he left it up to Ayako to check that the rest of her was unharmed. He sat back and sighed in relief, Mai was safe and mostly unharmed.

Mai sat between Naru and Lin it the van. They had packed up and were currently returning to the SPR office. Mai looked at Naru, who was staring stonily out the window.

"Mai stop staring, it's rude." He snapped coldly, not looking away from the window. She quickly averted her gaze to her hands in her lap. The rest of the ride was silent, and Mai was so relieved when they finally returned that she was tempted to kiss the office door. She was just preparing to leave the office when Naru grabbed her coat and tossed it to her.

"Come on." Was all he said. She silently followed him to his car and got it. The ride to her apartment was deathly quiet, and extremely awkward.

Naru parked his car outside Mai's apartment, in view of her front door. Mai sat there for a second; unsure as the whether she should say something or not. She was about to open the door and leave when Naru sighed, turning to look at her. She froze, waiting for him to yell at her and call her stupid in seven different languages. Instead, he reached past her and opened her door, returning his eyes to the road ahead of him. Mai looked at him undecidedly, and opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Just go inside Mai." His voice weary. She looked down and left a small frown on her face.

As soon as Mai was inside her apartment, Naru started the car and left, driving away from his assistant.

Instead of going home however, Naru drove to a dojo not far from his own apartment. He'd frequented this dojo when he had needed to let off steam. He fished out his key as he approached the door. The owner had given him his own set after being fed up with being called at all hours of the night to open for the demanding teenager.

Three hours and a sizeable stack of broken boards later, Naru had formulated a plan. He had thought of it while trying to find a way to keep Mai out of all the trouble she kept getting into. He had them spent an hour going over it in his head and ripping at it from every angle ruthlessly. Satisfied there would be no real problems to his plan, he let himself into the men's showers and cleaned himself of sweat. Once finished he returned home and called a very annoyed man to set up his new plan. He smiled when he hung up the phone. This new plan might not keep Mai out of trouble, but it would help her defend herself when she needed it.

The next day, Mai arrived at work to find a note sitting on her desk. It had an address on it and a time for later that night. There was also a comment telling her to wear suitable work out clothes. It was signed Naru. When she asked him about it, he said she'd find out later.


	6. Under Naru's Guard

Mai gasped as the breath was knocked out of her. There was a hand around her throat, lightly but firmly holding her to the ground.

"Dead." the owner of the hand said flatly. Mai glared up at the cold blue eyes in front of her face. Naru shifted, standing up to his full height and holding out his hand to Mai. Mai grabbed it and hauled herself up, scowling at Naru.

"I still had time." She argued, slipping back into her fighting stance. Naru returned to his and waited, watching her. She struck out, aiming for a low kick to his shin, which he easily sidestepped and returned with a quick and almost painless rap to the head. Mai winced, almost painless.

"Doubtful." He said as he stepped backing, going to the defensive, which forced Mai into offensive. "The ghost had you pinned to the ground by your throat." Mai huffed and aimed a jab to his stomach, which, surprisingly, connected. Naru barely noticed the impact, grabbing her wrist and twisting it, but Mai slipped out of his grip. He quickly dodged a jab to his neck and reached under her guard, quickly jabbing the weak underside of her body. She recoiled and dropped into defensive. Naru smirked and moved forward, placing blows on her arms sides, forcing her backwards. Mai knew he was herding her towards a wall, toying with her. She watched his movements carefully, barely keeping up with his attacks, and waited for an opening. He rarely gave them, but in the months they'd been sparring, she'd learnt to see the very slight openings he left when on the offensive. The first time she'd gotten him was a complete accident. She'd grown frustrated and just lashed out, kicking him as hard as she could just about his right hip while he was swinging at her with his left hand. She'd been stunned when she connected solidly, hurting her foot and bruising his side tremendously. He'd taken advantage of her surprise, and knocked her down, effectively winning that round, but Mai had figured out his weakness. He left his left side less guarded when striking, and a well-timed and placed kick could unbalance him. She'd worked at reaching that spot for the next month until she could get it almost every time, causing her to finally win her first round two months after they'd started. Naru had grudgingly complimented her; then continued to slam her into the mat every time they sparred for two weeks. After some trial and error, and a lot of not so serious injuries, Mai had developed her own technique at getting under Naru's guard and hitting him. This evened the battle field somewhat, and she found herself winning more and more. Naru eventually caught on as to why she was getting better and blocked himself better, forcing Mai to change her tactics.

_THERE!_ Mai shouted in her head, careful not to betray herself. She'd seen an opening as he had aimed for her right forearm. Jumping forward Mai grabbed hold of Naru's wrists, and feigned going to twist them; instead she snapped her arms back, forcing Naru to slam into her body with their hands behind her. As Naru yanked his hands back, she drove her knee back up, this time slamming it into his side. He stumbled back in pain and Mai lashed forward, kicking him square in the chest, knocking him flat on the ground. Running forwarded she jammed her foot on his throat, squeezing down until his arm reluctantly tapped the mat beside him. Mai released him and grinned.

"Dead." She hollered, sticking out her hand to help her boss out. Naru glared at her and, before she could react, swung his leg around, knocking her over. Mai fell with a thump and saw Naru towering over her, smirking, then headed to the changing rooms.

"Hey!" she yelled. "You cheated!" Naru turned just as he was at the door and looked at her.

"I never said there was only one ghost Mai."

Mai stood in the girls changing room, drying her hair.

"Stupid Naru," she mumbled. There was an impatient knock at the door, Naru wanting to go home. She shoved her things into her bag and hurried out. Naru waited in at the entrance to the dojo for her, nearly getting bowled over as she raced out the door.

"Slow down baka before you hurt someone." He growled, walking to his car. Mai blushed and looked down. He just shook his head and slipped into the driver's seat. Mai hopped into the passenger's seat and sighed, rubbing the muscles in her arms.

"Ne, Naru. You didn't need to hit so hard." She whined.

"Yes I do," was his only response.

Later that evening, after Naru had dropped her off, Mai was sitting in her bathtub, soaking her aching muscles for the fifth time that week. Naru had gotten a lot stronger in his attacking while they sparred. She presumed he was just doing it to toughen her up, but still, it hurt. She sighed and got up, wrapping herself in a towel and pulled the plug in her bath. She set the teakettle on to boil while she dried herself and changed. She heard the loud whistle of her teakettle and prepared green tea for herself, sipping at it gratefully as the hot liquid slid down her throat. She thought back to the first time she'd sparred with Naru. She'd arrived at work that morning finding a note telling her to come to the dojo later that evening. She hadn't known where she was going at the time, but had dressed as Naru instructed in workout clothes. When she saw where she was, she felt nervous. But when she entered the apparently empty building to find Naru sitting in the middle of the room in loose pants and a t-shirt, her nervousness was replaced with confusion.

"_Ne, Naru? What are we doing here?" she asked, stepping into the large room, the floor covered in mats. Naru just motioned for her to sit before him. She hesitantly did, folding her legs under her._

"_Since you can't seem to be able to keep yourself out of trouble on cases," he started, looking her directly in the eye. "I've decided to teach you how to defend yourself."_

_Mai looked at him, surprised, but then understood why he'd told her to meet at a dojo._

He'd then proceeded to spend the next few weeks drilling stances and forms into her head until she could do them in her sleep. After he'd been satisfied with her progress he started sparring with her using safety gear. Going extremely easy on her at first, but as she got better and better, he fought harder and harder. After about four months, he decided there was no longer any need for the safety gear, and she started training without them. The bruises forming on Mai in those first few weeks of fighting with the gear had half of the SPR team threatening to call the police and file assault charges against Naru. But Mai convinced them it was fine, and her learning to fight was necessary if she wanted to be able to protect herself on cases. They'd grudgingly left it alone, but every time Mai came to work with a new set of bruises, they'd all be in bad moods, glaring non-stop at Naru. Nary just ignored them and continued to spar with Mai every night until her bruises lessened. The first time Naru had showed up to work with a bruise, everyone, including Lin, had congratulated Mai, and they'd all, but Naru, gone out for lunch. Eventually the pair both started coming back with more or less bruises, depending on which of the pair you were talking to. And though he never said or acted like it, Naru was pleasantly surprised at the speed of which Mai was improving.

The first time Mai had ever had to really use her training was in a case six months after she'd started training. A ghost had cornered her in the bathroom after she'd had a shower and attempted to drown her in the sink. She'd automatically fought back, managing to put Naru's training to use to free herself and bolt from the room. The ghost had pursued her, and she was forced to fend it off as it attacked again. She had jabbed and kicked the ghost hard enough to break bones, had it been a normal _live_ person. The ghost however, didn't feel it, but decided that the meddlesome girl who could keep her back was not worth the effort it would take to get under her guard. As the ghost left Mai had felt triumphant. Everyone had been worried when they saw the temperature drop where Mai was, but saw through the cameras as she defended herself sufficiently and walked to the base, uninjured.

Naru sat in his bathroom, shirt off and looking at himself in the mirror. He could see a rather large bruise forming where Mai had kneed him in the side. His eyes tightened in pain as he gently prodded the area. Growling under his breath he put his shirt back on. That was the sixth time that week Mai had managed to beat him. He decided it was time to up her training, and started planning their next session while he drifted off to sleep. A small smile graced his lips as he reviewed Mai's progress. To say he was pleased wouldn't exactly be a lie.


	7. How Naru Found Her

One month. One month since he'd left. Mai lay, curled in her bed, thinking over that day, as she had so many times since. One month since she'd learnt Nar was _the_ Oliver Davis. He'd told them of how he'd been here to search for his brother's body, the same brother she'd mistaken for Naru in her dreams. Once he'd found him, Gene, he'd left. Closing SPR and returning to his home in England. Mai had been crushed, walking around in a daze for the first week. The second week she'd spent hiding in her bedroom, not talking to anyone, just letting herself cry over her ex-boss. The others had tried to comfort her, but eventually stopped and gave her space, even her tears had stopped coming and she was empty. It was one month after his departure, and Mai was woken to the sound of Masako all but knocking her door down, surprising her. She'd left her bed, entered the living room, and stood there, barely listening as Masako ranted and raved about Naru wasn't worth the time she spent mourning his loss. However, seeing that it wasn't working, she changed tactics, turning harsh. She insulted her, calling her stupid, troublesome and selfish. She was only doing it to try get Mai to come back, come back to being herself. It wasn't working and Masako looked at the young girl; she didn't know what to do with Mai, none of them did, and they were starting to think she might not recover. That's why Masako had decided to storm to Mai's apartment and try getting her to snap out of it. Willing to slap sense back into her if necessary. This is exactly what she had did. Seeing she wasn't getting through, Masako drew her hand back and brought it hard across Mai's face. She flinched at the noise it made, and immediately felt guilty for it. Mai looked up at her, shocked, and seemed to be back to reality, but only for a few seconds before she slipped back into her mind. As she saw Mai fading, Masako desperately said something she wished she'd never even thought of.

"No wonder he left you, you're pathetic." She whispered, trying to force disgust into her voice. Mai reacted to that, looking at Masako as if she were an alien. Her gaze shifted to the floor.

"Get out." Mai muttered. Masako almost cried, hearing her talk, something she hadn't done for a few weeks. She stepped forward, reaching out to hug Mai, but Mai stepped back, looking at her with such anger. "GET OUT!" she screamed. Masako's eyes widened, in surprise and fear. She left, almost tripping over herself in a hurry. Mai stood still, staring at the door her friend had just exited. She stormed up to the door, forcibly locking it and spun around, looking at her apartment. She felt her anger transfer from what Masako had said to the various items she had left lying around. Dirty dishes and unwashed clothes were left, strewn everywhere. Mai snarled, stalking around the room as she grabbed cups and plates, throwing them in the general direction of the sink with such force that they all shattered. Mai tore the clothes she found, shoving all of them into her bin. Her mind thought over what Masako had said, believing she was right.

"Of course she was right." She said bitterly, throwing another cup across the room. "Why would he want to stay here? He has what he came here for! There's nothing else to keep him here!" Mai searched her apartment, looking for anything else that offended her by being out of place. She entered her bedroom saw a picture frame sitting by her bed, containing a picture of her SPR family, including Lin and Naru. She picked it up and stared at the blue-eyed man. Tears fell from her face as she felt her anger well up, intensifying. "You left me." She whispered, staring with hate at the picture. She was gripping the frame so hard it started to crack. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!" she screamed, throwing the frame as hard as she could at the wall opposite her. She heard the smash of glass at stared at the frame where it lay in pieces on the floor. Her anger drained away and her legs gave out. She fell to the ground and sobbed into her bed. She cried until she couldn't breathe from the force of her sobs, causing her to hyperventilate. She let herself fall sideways and curled into a ball on her floor staring numbly into nothing.

This was how Naru found her.


	8. Where He Belonged

Naru delicately grabbed the tea Mai offered him, studying his former assistant and friend. He'd arrived at her apartment and knocked for a good ten minutes when a neighbour of Mai's had asked him if she was all right. They had then explained to Naru about all the shattering noises. Naru had promptly kicked the door opened and rushed inside, fearing the worst for his danger-magnet of a friend. Seeing the mess everywhere, but no Mai, he'd walked cautiously to her bedroom, in to the alarming sight of her curled in a ball on the floor, her face hidden by her clenched fists. Panic seized him and he ran to the girl, saying her name repeatedly until she responded. Her response being to sit up and promptly deliver a hard punch to his face. So now, Naru sat in Mai's trashed apartment, a bruise forming ion his face, watching Mai shuffle around and silently begin to tidy her apartment. He studied her closely as she moved, noting she looked thinner than before. She was also paler than usual, and seemed to have permanent tear tracks down her face. She also refused to look at him.

Mai moved around her apartment, resisting the strong urge to look at her ex-boss, who was sitting only a few meters away, watching her. She focused back on her task of cleaning her apartment, appalled at the damage she had done. No matter how angry she had been in the past, whether at Naru or something else entirely, she'd never broken anything, or thrown a fit of this magnitude. It scared her, especially knowing she'd reacted like this because Masako had only confirmed her fears that Naru thought she was useless and pathetic. However, as she thought back to it, the medium seemed to radiate guilt as she said it. She decided she'd call Masako later and talk to her, sort out what happened. In the mean time, she had the recently returned Naru to contend with. Speaking of which, Mai surreptitiously peeked out of the corner of her eyes to see Naru watching her intently. She hurried and finished cleaning, putting the broken plates and cups in a haphazard pile by the door, and jamming any remaining clothes in her clothesbasket. Afterwards she silently sat at the other end of the couch to Naru and stared blankly at the wall, wondering if he would talk or sit there.

Naru watched Mai sit and begin to stare at the wall in front of her, looking uncomfortable as hell. He watched her while he finished his tea, then rose to his feet. He saw Mai flinch slightly as he moved, and walked to her, standing in front of her. He dropped into a crouch, until he was slightly below Mai's eye level.

"What's wrong Mai." He whispered, studying her face. She slowly moved her eyes to look at him, but the bland look on her face stayed the same. She said nothing, just stared at him. Sighing he stood again, this time sitting directly next to her. In a move very much un-Naru like, he put his arms around her and she shifted without resistance, until she was nearly sitting in his lap, with her head on his chest. They sat like that for a long time, neither talking nor doing anything. "I'm sorry." He continued, still whispering. "I'm sorry I left you." his throat tightened as he felt Mai shudder, and he realized she'd started crying. He tightened his hold on her as her sobs grew louder and heavier. Mai gripped his shirt, bunching it up into her face until all she could see was black material. "I shouldn't have left you."

Naru didn't know how long they'd sat there, his arm around the crying girl. Eventually he felt her relax, the tensing leaving her, and he assumed she'd fallen asleep. Soft snores confirmed his theory, so he moved to pick her up and take her to her bed. But when he made to get off the couch, she moved, wrapping her arms around his waist, still sleeping. With her change in position, it became harder for Naru to maneuver her into a position where he could pick her up. He glared down at the girl in exasperation, and shuffled himself into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes, listening to her steady breathing. He sat there and thought of his decision to come back to Japan.

_He'd been sitting at the desk in his old room, back in England. His mother Luella was talking to him about some function or another, he wasn't particularly listening. It was then he'd received a phone call from a VERY pissed of Ayako. She'd screamed his ear off through the phone about how he was an ass and that if he didn't get his butt back to Japan and fix Mai she was going to fly herself to England and drag him back by the ear. He'd been surprised, turning horrified as she told him about Mai's behavior over the past month. Sure, he knew she had a crush on him; it was obvious with all her staring and near drooling. However, he figured she'd move on after he'd left and find someone else. He never expected to be called a month later and be told that she was almost catatonic because of him. His mother, still being in the room and able to hear Ayako's screams through the phone, quickly caught on to what was happening. Kin had told her of Naru's little assistant, and she figured out, from what she was told, Naru didn't like this Mai Taniyama in a strictly platonic way. As soon as her son had hung up the phone, she jumped straight down his throat and packed his bags, putting him on the next flight back to Japan. Bewildered by this new turn of events, Naru spent the entire flight wondering what he was supposed to do when he arrived. He had found out a while ago that he thought of Mai as more than a friend, but he'd been too busy with finding Gene to act on it, and by the time he was no longer occupied with Gene's body, he was safely back home in England. So he shoved thoughts of Mai out of his mind, and for the next months, concentrated on catching up with everything he'd missed while he was away._

Mai woke to darkness, darkness that was warm and moved. Confused, she slowly shifter her head, and came face to face with a sleeping Naru. Startled, she looked around. She was in her apartment, on the floor in front of her couch. Naru had his arms and a leg wrapped around her like an octopus, and was quietly sleeping. She blushed and attempted to move, but his arms shifted and restricted her movement.

"Who said you could move."

Mai squealed and jumped, looking down to see Naru looking at her through one eye. Seeing she was once again immobile, he closed his eye, half-drifting back into sleep. Mai cautiously lay back down, laying her head back onto Naru's shoulder where it had been resting. She tried to think of how they'd gotten into this position. Her thoughts returned her to last night. She'd been crying when Naru showed up. She'd offered him tea, which he accepted, then cleaned her house. Afterwards she'd sat on the couch, where Naru had put his arms around her and told her he was sorry for leaving her. She remembered crying, but after that nothing. She must have fallen asleep. But why hadn't Naru left? Or even moved? _He must have felt sorry for you._ Her mind supplied, sneering at her. She frowned, and tears prickled at her eyes. It seemed the most likely answer, why else would he still be here? She couldn't help the tears the escaped and stilled as they dropped quietly onto Naru's shirt. She felt him tense, and his hand was suddenly at her face, wiping the tears away. She looked up at him, seeing him watch her carefully as he dried her face. "Please stop crying." He said gently. "I'm surprised you have any liquid left in you to cry out."

"Why are you here?" Mai said, looking at him. Naru paused, looking down.

"I told you," he said, frowning. "I shouldn't have left you." She blinked, not believing him.

"But why?"

Naru turned his gaze back to her and couldn't help but smile at the girl in front of him. She really was an idiot. He moved towards her, slowly so she could tell his intention, and say no if she wanted. But she didn't, and he continued forward until he was kissing her. She froze underneath him, and then it was as if she exploded into action. She kissed him back, hard and desperately, ore tears slipping out, though of what she didn't know. Naru moved his hands up, running one into her hair, the other pushing himself up and over until he was hovering over Mai, her head resting in his other palm. Mai moved her hands as well, grabbing his neck and hair, pulling him closer to her until he was pressed against her. He kissed her harder, needing to feel her against him. He realized then that forgetting Mai was the worst mistake he'd made. He should have come straight back here, and stayed here. Where he belonged.

With her.


	9. Finally

Naru sat across from Mai in a small café not far from her apartment, sipping the green tea he had ordered. They had left Mai's apartment to get lunch after spending the morning lying on Mai's floor talking about nothing in particular and kissing. Hunger had driven them up, and they'd decided to go out for lunch, walking to the closest café.

"Ne, Naru," Mai started, catching his attention. She opened her mouth to say something; but shut it again and blushed, falling quiet. "Never mind." She mumbled. Naru raised a brow at her.

"What is it Mai?" he asked, amused at how she blushed so easily. Mai looked at him, biting her lip.

"I was wondering." She started again, breathing deeply before ploughing on. "I mean, I know you said you came back for me and all; that you shouldn't have left. But, well, why?" she stared at him earnestly, still red in the face, but forcing herself not to look down. Naru frowned, that was not what he was expecting, though he'd assumed he'd have to explain himself properly at some point, he just hadn't banked on it being this soon.

"Because I…" he trailed off, thinking deeply. Mai sat patiently, knowing he'd explain as soon as he had it all right in his head. Looking out the window, Naru returned his mind to when he left to return to England. "I certainly felt relieved and even happy to be going home," he said quietly, Mai could only just hear him. "but underneath, for reasons I wasn't sure of, I'd been sad. I realised soon after that, that I hadn't wanted to leave Japan, to leave you. But it was too late then, I'd left and there was nothing to be done about it, my parents wanted me home, and I couldn't bear to leave them so soon after returning. But during my time home I grew listless, spending more time daydreaming of days at SPR than doing my work. Eventually I learned to shove that all away, and I was once again able to continue with my work, but it wasn't the same. England just no longer held the appeal I remembered in my boyhood, especially with Gene gone. However, when my mother informed him of what was happening with You, I realised the mistake I'd made in leaving. So I took the next flight to Japan, and headed straight for you. The rest you know." He finished, his eyes had moved back to her at some point during his speech, but he hadn't even notice it happen. He sat, tense as a cat and waited for her reaction. He was never sure how she'd react to anything he said. When she stayed silent, contemplating he stood, walking around the table to stand next to her. He pulled the nearest chair to him and sat, so his knees where touching her thigh. Watching her face intently, he spoke once more. "It took me a month of being away from you for me to realise that I love you."

This made Mai look at him, startled. She'd figured after that morning that he felt something for her, but she'd never thought it would be love. She searched his face for any sign that he was lying, or at least stretching the truth, but she saw nothing to refute his claims. She felt something roll down her face, and lifted to touch it, she was surprised to find she was crying, but she wasn't sad. She watche3d, half dazed as Naru's face drew closer, and soon they were kissing. Sweet and filled with love, his lips captured hers, telling her everything that he'd been too scared or blind to.

It was nearing midnight and the two teenagers were once again sitting in Mai's apartment. After their time in the café, they'd gone to the nearest park and walked around for hours, talking about old times. Mai had enjoyed it immensely; Naru had laughed, a lot, at all the silly things she recounted from their earlier days of working together. Mai loved the sound of him laughing, properly, laughing. She'd never seen him so happy, or open. When she'd asked him, he said it was because he was happy. Happy he was able to be here without grim thoughts of finding his brothers body hanging over his head. Also being with Mai, finally; after all this time yearning, even if he didn't know he was doing it, it made him happier than he'd been in a long time. When the sun started to set they returned to Mai's place, eating a simple dinner and just enjoying being in each other's company. However, time was getting on, and Naru said he had to leave soon, though he didn't want to. But he'd only been back a day and them together for less than that, so he knew that it would be best if he went to his own home. If only for him to return early the next day, which Mai made him swear to do.

Naru looked at the apartment he'd occupied during his time in Japan. He'd been lucky, the owner of the apartment block had yet to lease it out to someone else, and it had taken barely any persuasion on Naru's part to get the place back. Lin had moved his things back in while Naru had gone to Mai, knowing that the teenager needed to see her, and not spend precious time setting up his small belongings. Upon entering his home, Naru noted that everything was in place how he'd left it, and reminded himself to thank Lin later. Shrugging off his coat and laying it on the back of the couch, he padded over to the kitchen to make tea. Despite the time, he was not tired, too much adrenaline from the day coursed through his veins. While the teakettle boiled, he changed into his pyjamas, a loose fitting shirt and pyjama bottoms. When it was finished, he brought his tea over to the lounge, and drank it while he read over the few cases he'd brought with him from England to go over. His mind quickly drifted back to Mai, and he wondered what she was doing at the moment.

Mai was lying in bed, dozing and smiling as she thought over the day she'd had. She couldn't believe Naru was back, and that he came back for her! He said he _loved_ her! She was giddy; to put it mildly, and soon found herself giggling when she pictured what the others would say when they found out. Thoughts of the others sobered her like cold water to the face. She knew they'd been worried about her this past month, especially with the way she'd behaved. She'd just been so depressed. Her only love had left her, without any real warning, leaving her desolate and alone. She had slowly closed herself off to them, and ignored their attempts to talk and to help, which she knew had hurt them. An image of Masako flashed through her mind, and she recalled what her medium friend had said to her. Anger flooded through her, firing into her veins as she clenched her fists. _Some friend!_ She thought to herself. _Saying such terrible things._ Tears pricked at her eyes when she remembered the last thing she'd said to her, but then something clicked. In her memory, she paid more attention to what Masako was doing, instead of what she was saying. In her mind's eye she could see such guilt pass through her, even before the words were out of her mouth. Mai had been to out of it to really understand anything other than the words themselves. But now that she was calm, she could hear the way Masako had said it, how she sounded weak as she spoke, like the words hurt her. Not as much as they hurt Mai, but saying them had cost the medium something too. Mai turned it around in her head, her anger slowly ebbing away. When she thought of why the medium had come to her house, and what had resulted after, she realised something. Masako had said it only to get a reaction. All of it was to get Mai to react, to DO something, no matter what that something was. She understood now, Masako had been so desperate to see her friend show some form of life she risked Mai hating her just to bring her back to reality. New appreciation for her friend grew in her heart, but was overtaken as the rest of the day and night played through her mind. Naru was once again the centre of her attention, and she fell asleep like that, dreaming of her narcissistic ex (maybe)-boss. Just as he fell asleep, dreaming of his ex (though not if he got his way)-assistant.

Resounding quietly in both Mai and Naru's rooms, came the quiet, content voice of Gene.

_Finally_.


	10. Send Him Home

**And here is the final chapter/one-shot in the Umbrella verse. This has been fun guys, and maybe I'll do more in the future, but for now I'll continue to read fiction, instead of writing it.**

**Same drill as always, don't own, R&R.**

**But mainly, I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed and favourited my one-shots. You are ALL amazing people, and it brightens my day to know that someone out there appreciates the rambles my mind comes up there on these two. Bye for now!**

* * *

Gene closed his eyes, tears forming from staring into space for too long. As the tears slipped down his face, he recalled what he'd seen; his own death. He'd seen himself hit by a car and dumped into water. He could feel the ghost of the water in his lungs, making his throat contract and the air flow lessen. However, the pain the knowledge of his death created faded as he remembered what it would cause. His twin, searching for his dead body, would finally find someone other than Gene to love. And he would love her more than he would ever love anything else. As much as it saddened him that for that to happen he had to die, he was happy with what his brother would have.

Uncurling his legs, he stood and, massaging his neck, he left his bedroom; travelling downstairs to make himself tea. Upon entering the kitchen, he saw Noll sitting at the table, reading a file from BPR. He studied his younger brother; matching the boy he saw before him to the man he had seen in his premonition.

"Why are you staring?" Noll suddenly asked. "It's rude." Gene shook his head, ridding himself of such morbid thoughts. Noll looked up at his brother, seeing the fleeting sadness in his brother's eyes before it disappeared behind his usual cheerful disposition. Frowning, he extended his mind to his twins, prodding, but was quickly met with resistance. He raised his eyebrow at his brother, who averted his eyes and shuffled to the counter, opening cupboards and pulling out the ingredients to make tea.

"Keep out of my head." He scolded, putting the teakettle on to boil.

Three weeks after his premonition, Gene was standing in an airport, saying goodbye to his parents.

"Make sure to call us when you land." Luella Davis reminded her son, hugging him tightly. She was slightly surprised when he hugged back harder, holding the hug for longer than was strictly necessary.

"Bye mum." He said, trying not to choke as he knew this would be the last he ever saw of his parents. Upon releasing his mother, his father stuck out his hand, nodding. Gene took his father's hand, shaking it. A fit of childishness overcame him, and he yanked his father into a hug tighter than the one he gave his mother. Shocked, his father froze, but soon relaxed enough to awkwardly pat him on the back.

"Come on Gene, you're only leaving for a few weeks." His father said, stepping out of the embrace. Gene nodded, but neither parent saw the sadness in his eyes as he turned and made his way over to board the plane. With one last look at his mother and father, he left for Japan, walking straight into a death he dreaded coming.

During his flight, all Gene could think about was his upcoming death, and he realised he was okay with it. He could feel his time coming to an end, and he knew it would be a catalyst for something amazing. He'd thought long and hard over whether he was going to change his future or not, but seeing his brother, distant from everyone but his family, so different from the 'Naru' from his vision, that he'd decided he wanted that Noll to exist, more than anything. So he arranged his trip to Japan, making false plans on what he would do there. In all honesty he had no idea what he was going to do when he arrived. He supposed he'd look for the place he dies, but there were a few things to take care of first. For one, he needed to tidy up a few loose ends. Secondly, he wanted to see this Mai Taniyama with his own two eyes. The former was easy enough to do when he arrived in Shibuya. The former, however, required a bit more stealth.

Mai Taniyama hurried across her high school campus, already very late for class, when she saw something flutter in front of her. Before she knew what had happened, she collided with something, sending herself rebounding back onto the ground, landing on her behind.

"Ow." She muttered, looking up at what she had hit. Standing before her was a tall boy about her age with black hair and blue eyes. He was smiling down at her sheepishly, and offered her a hand to get up.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going." His voice was light and kind, making Mai smile as she took the offered hand.

"No, it's my fault." She said, brushing herself off with one hand when she was on her feet. "I shouldn't have been running so fast without looking." she blushed when she noticed the boy still had her hand. "May I have my hand back?" she asked. The boy glanced down at their intertwined hands and, after some hesitation, dropped her hand and returned his own back to his side.

"Let me help you with those." He said, gesturing to Mai's books, which lay in a mess on the ground.

"Ah, no! Don't worry about it!" Mai exclaimed shaking her head and smiling. "I can get them." She bent to collect her books, but the boy was faster, and had already picked up most of them before she'd even reached the ground. "Thank you." She beamed when he handed them back. The boy smiled and turned to leave.

"Guess I'll see you around, Mai." He said, before walking off and leaving behind a very confused Mai. Once he left the high school grounds he found a bench to sit down. Mai had been almost what he'd expected. Absent minded and kind. The Mai from his vision was merely a shadow of the sun compared to meeting the girl in person, even if he had only seen her for a short period of time. She would be good for Noll, he decided. That, more than anything set his mind completely on his task at hand, and he caught the next bus back to his hotel room, throwing himself into searching for the road next to the lake.

Noll sat in his room, reading a textbook on parapsychology. Sighing, he put his book down, glancing at his watch. His brother should be boarding his plane right now, if there were no delays. He'd offered to go to Japan with his twin, but Gene had vehemently refused him. His reaction had shocked Noll.

"_No Noll, you're not coming with me." Gene said sternly, staring his brother down in a rare show of seriousness._

"_Why not? I have as much to gain out of studying the paranormal researches being done in Japan as you do." Noll reasoned. However, Gene remained stubborn. They'd been arguing about it for a week, since Gene announced he wished to go to Japan. Noll had been confused as to why he hadn't been invited along, as they usually did things like this together. "I see no reason why you should be allowed to go, but I have to stay here!"_

"_Because I have to do this alone!" Gene snapped, reaching the end of his rather long fuse with his brother. "You have to understand that. This is just something that I have to do without you." He added, speaking in a soft voice. "You'll understand one day little brother." Noll studied his brother, seeing something in his face he couldn't identify. He knew his brother had been keeping something from him for the past few months, but whenever he'd asked, he'd been brushed off. It hurt to know his twin was keeping secrets from each other, but he knew that unless Gene decided to tell him, there was nothing he could do to find out. _

"_Fine." Noll said, voice going cold as he shut down his emotions to rid him of the hurt he felt, the start of a new part of him that was to become very prominent in the future. "Go." With that he turned on his heel and left. He hadn't talked to Gene for three days after that, preferring to sulk in his room._

Two weeks later, Noll wandered into Gene's bedroom, grabbing a shirt from Gene wardrobe.

Images flashed through his head, and an emptiness he could never have imagined settled over him as he realised his brother was gone. Dead.

Three months later Noll followed his brother to Japan; while the ghost of his elder twin watched his premonition slowly unfold. Gene knew it would be a long time until he could talk to his brother again, and seeing the pain in his brother hurt him more than dying had; but it was worth it, worth everything. Just to send Noll home to Mai.


End file.
